2008 Woodie Awards
Writers Series author Hass garners a Pulitzer Prize
Rod Aminian
Issue date: 4/11/08 Section: Entertainment
Although Gonzaga's Writers Series has wrapped up for the year, a happy piece of news came on Monday, April 7: Former Poet Laureate Robert Hass, who did a reading at Gonzaga in March, co-won a Pulitzer Prize in poetry for his latest book, "Time and Materials." This comes in addition to a National Book Award which Hass won for the same work.
Dr. Tod Marshall, associate professor of English, thinks this is a great development for the Gonzaga community.
"It's kind of a great tribute to the series - we hosted Jess Walter a few years back at Gonzaga ... and just a little bit afterward, he won the Edgar Award and was nominated for the National Book Award," Marshall said. "Sherman Alexie, who we also had on campus, won the National Book Award two years ago; we scheduled Hass, and soon afterward, he won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer." Marshall added that Jess Walter, author of "The Zero," will likely be in next year's Gonzaga Writers Series lineup.
"We seem to be a good luck charm," Marshall said.
With consistently well-attended readings by authors representing different geographical regions as well as literary forms and styles, the Gonzaga Writers Series was a stunning success that Marshall has high hopes for next year.
"It was a tremendous success. Huge crowds, enthusiastic people in attendance," Marshall said. "This speaks to the energy for creativity and, specifically, creative writing here at Gonzaga - something we in the English department hope to offer more of in the future."
Next year's series may feature even more big names, Marshall revealed.
"We hope to have Carolyn Forche, a very important poet concerned with social justice, come to campus," Marshall said. "Besides Jess Walter, we also hope to host our very own Beth Cooley, a writer of three young adult novels of distinction, and a couple of other writers, like Mary Oliver, Lucille Clifton, Li-young Lee, Richard Kinney, Annie Dillard and others have been mentioned."
The excitement from the Writers Series helped contribute to Gonzaga's creative writing outlets - Reflection (Gonzaga's journal of art & creativity) as well as the Michael and Gail Gurian Awards, Marshall said.
Even with all of the energy and big names being thrown around, Marshall is still focused on the real important matters.
"I hope that we get permanent funding so that I don't have to worry about the series fading away," Marshall said.
Dr. Tod Marshall, associate professor of English, thinks this is a great development for the Gonzaga community.
"It's kind of a great tribute to the series - we hosted Jess Walter a few years back at Gonzaga ... and just a little bit afterward, he won the Edgar Award and was nominated for the National Book Award," Marshall said. "Sherman Alexie, who we also had on campus, won the National Book Award two years ago; we scheduled Hass, and soon afterward, he won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer." Marshall added that Jess Walter, author of "The Zero," will likely be in next year's Gonzaga Writers Series lineup.
"We seem to be a good luck charm," Marshall said.
With consistently well-attended readings by authors representing different geographical regions as well as literary forms and styles, the Gonzaga Writers Series was a stunning success that Marshall has high hopes for next year.
"It was a tremendous success. Huge crowds, enthusiastic people in attendance," Marshall said. "This speaks to the energy for creativity and, specifically, creative writing here at Gonzaga - something we in the English department hope to offer more of in the future."
Next year's series may feature even more big names, Marshall revealed.
"We hope to have Carolyn Forche, a very important poet concerned with social justice, come to campus," Marshall said. "Besides Jess Walter, we also hope to host our very own Beth Cooley, a writer of three young adult novels of distinction, and a couple of other writers, like Mary Oliver, Lucille Clifton, Li-young Lee, Richard Kinney, Annie Dillard and others have been mentioned."
The excitement from the Writers Series helped contribute to Gonzaga's creative writing outlets - Reflection (Gonzaga's journal of art & creativity) as well as the Michael and Gail Gurian Awards, Marshall said.
Even with all of the energy and big names being thrown around, Marshall is still focused on the real important matters.
"I hope that we get permanent funding so that I don't have to worry about the series fading away," Marshall said.